BlackBirds
by PathOfThorns
Summary: info that demons have found Cas sends Dean and Sam back to the mental hospital to rescue him. Fleeing to a remote town, a seemingly random hunt has Cas now fighting for not only sanity, but for his life too. Hurt!Cas and Awesome!Sam/Dean. Dean's POV


**Alright, as per request from Promise777, here is another fic. Hope this is what you were looking for  
>R&amp;R please!<br>Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"**It's harder starting over than never to have changed"-Blackbirds by Linkin Park**

Another day, another crap-hole motel. I should get that on a shirt, have it plastered across the front in bright red letters to really get the point across. Seriously, did motel managers make it a test between themselves to see who could build the crappiest motel in the state? It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Hell, it would make me feel _better_, because then I wouldn't have to wonder how such a crappy thing came into existence.

I was busy contemplating if Satan was actually a motel manager, and that all motels where his hell-spawn, when a frilly white pillow collided with my face with enough force to knock my head back.

"Sam!" I shouted, because unless a ghost tossed a pillow at me, it had to be Sam.

"Dude, I'm talking to you. Pay attention." He said, a cross look on his face.

"I am, Sam. I just don't know why you're so hung up over this. We did the right thing leaving Cas in there. He's safer there than he is with us. You know if we take him with us then demons are gonna be hopping his ass every chance they get, and we don't have the time or the resources to deal with demons _and_ leviathans." I reasoned.

Sam was just so damn hung up over this whole thing. I feel bad leaving Cas back there too, but I've got to look at the bigger picture at the moment. Hell, I would have taken Cas with us if that didn't put his life in jeopardy, but seeing as it did, I made a decision and I'm standing by it.

"You don't know that, Dean. Meg is in there with him, and she's a demon." Sam was getting angry now, I could tell. I think he maybe felt responsible for Cas's current predicament. What did he call it? Oh yeah, "passing the crazy on".

"Look, Sam. I know Meg is a demon and all, and I don't trust her at all, but she hasn't exactly done anything to us, and she's had plenty of opportunities. I think it's safe to say that Cas is safe with her."

Sam's jaw clenched, a sign that he was holding back on something he wanted to say.

"What, Sam? You know as well as I do that there's nothing more we can do for Cas. After we waste Dick I promise we'll come back and deal with Cas then." I tried my hand at compromising with Sam, but I didn't have much hope at winning anything when up against Sam's stubborn streak. The thing was like a damn brick wall, you just couldn't get past it.

My brother's mouth opened then, no doubt to argue further, but then Deep Purple's _Smoke on the Water _was blasting from my phone and cutting off whatever it was he was going to say.

I smirked at the sound of my ringtone. Damn that's a good song. Choosing to ignore Sam for the moment, I swung my legs over the edge of the crappy bed and stood up. Walking past my brother without a glance in his direction, I grabbed my phone from the cracked wooden table, welcoming the distraction.

"Who is it?" I demanded, not bothering to waste time with formalities.

"_How rude of you, Dean. And here I was calling to help you guys out."_

I grimaced in disgust. "Help? With what, Meg? We don't need your help."

"_You're gonna want it. Look, I don't know how, but some demons got wind of your angel buddy's whereabouts."_

A flood of ice filled my veins, but was soon followed by a powerful surge of red hot anger.

"Oh really, Meg? You 'don't know how', huh? Don't you screw with me! You're the _only _demon who knew where he was. What did they bribe you with? A steaming hot corpse? Dammit! You can bet your demonic ass that I'm gonna kill you." I growled dangerously, fully intent on carrying through with the threat.

"_Excuse me? Are you really that stupid, Dean? Do you really think that if I was the one who told them, that I would be stupid enough to give you any sort of warning? I don't know how they know, but they do. I didn't have anything to do with it." _Meg's offended voice came from the other end. Man her voice pisses me off.

"I'll kill you, Meg" I hissed into the phone before snapping it shut. Did she really think I was that gullible? Hell no. She was the only demon that knew where Cas was. Hell she's the only demon that even knows Cas is alive. She is so dying bloody.

"Dean? What is it?" I heard Sam ask from behind me, quiet caution in his voice. I was scaring him. Dammit.

"The bitch, Sam. Meg. She spilled the beans on where Cas is holed up and now he's in danger. Come on, we're going." I said, leaving no room for argument as I went back to the bed and started shoving clothes into my duffel bag.

"Going? Where? What do you mean Cas is in danger? I though you said that he'd be safe there." Sam questioned skeptically, but moved to pack his own things anyway. Good boy.

"We, my brother, are breaking Cas out of that mental hospital. Turns out that you were right. Meg couldn't be trusted alone with Cas, and now because of her, he's in danger. So why not have him be in danger with us, where at least we can protect him, then have him defenseless in that hospital."

I zipped up the duffel bag and threw it over my shoulder, turning to Sam. His hazel eyes were currently a blue-green, and they stared at me, searching for something in my own eyes. Apparently he found it, because in the next moment he nodded and zipped up his duffel bag, hefting it up and trudging out the door without another word.

My lips curled in a smile. At least one thing good came out of this. We didn't have to stay in the damn motel anymore.

**()()()()SPN()()()()**

"Hi we're here to see our friend. He just checked in yesterday. His names…um…Emanuel. Amanuel…something manuel." I stuttered. Damn Cas and his weirdo human name.

"I'm sorry. Who?" The doctor asked, pushing his ugly glasses further up his nose as he reclined back into the leather chair he sat in behind his desk.

"Christo." Sam spoke up from my right. Smart thinking. What if this guy was a demon?

"Christo? Let me check if we have anyone here under that name.." The doctor said, blinking in confusion for a second, but his eyes didn't flash demon black.

"Um, no. His names Emanuel or something." I corrected, not breaking eye contact when the doctor lifted his eyes to stare at me in confusion. After a few seconds, he looked back at the computer in front of him, typing in the name.

"Ah, yes. He's just down the hall. Here, let me take you there." The doctor rose from his chair. Damn, he was pretty tall. Almost as tall as me.

I let him take the lead before following after him, Sam tagging along behind me. We walked down the monotone hall, dull colors painting a boring picture on the walls. I kept my eyes alert, glancing from side to side every few seconds to make sure no one was getting too close. It would be just my luck to have a demon masquerading as an insane person.

"Alright, he's in here. Please don't agitate him, his condition is fragile." With that, the doctor turned and left, leaving us standing in front of the bland door.

I took one more glance around before turning the knob and pushing the door open slowly. The first thing I noticed was Cas, still sitting in the same position he had been in when we left him, with his back turned towards the door. The second thing I noticed was the man standing over Cas. The man with black eyes.

Spitting a curse, I drew the demon-killing knife from my pocket and lunged towards the man. He barely had time to turn his ebony eyes on me before I was plunging the knife through his neck. Orange sparks danced along his body, and he jerked twice before going still, surprise dying in his black orbs.

I ripped the knife from his neck, hastily wiping the blood off on the dead man's clothes and sheathing it in my jacket pocket again. Damn demons.

"Sam, book ass. We've gotta be gone by the time someone finds this body." I warned, turned towards where Sam was kneeling in front of Cas. My brother simply gave me his best bitchface and turned back to the angel.

"Hey, Cas. Come on, man. We're getting you out of here." Sam shook Cas's shoulders urgently. When no answer was forthcoming, he shook him again. "Cas. I know you're in there. Come on." Cas remained blank-faced and unresponsive.

Guess I've got to deal with this then. I stepped up next to my brother and leaned in towards Cas's emotionless face.

"Alright Cas. Nap times over. Time to wake up and face reality, because what you're seeing now? That's not reality. It's just hallucinations, as in not-real, and I'm really gonna need you to wake up now, or we're going to be in some deep shit."

Finally Cas's electric blue eyes focused on the here-and-now, and I watched silently as he looked around the room slowly, probably searching for Lucifer. A relief so strong even I could see it flooded into his eyes soon after. I'm guessing that Lucifer left the building.

Blue eyes landed on me and recognition shone brightly in their depths.

"I fail to see how we would end up in feces, Dean, but I understand the urgency of the situation. Where is it that you would have me go now?" Cas asked, perfectly serious.

"You're coming with us. You've been found out, so it'll be safer if you're hanging with us. We can cover your ass that way." I said, decision already made.

Cas looked at me confusedly. "I don't see why you would need to cover my… never mind. I understand. I'll come." Cas said, even though he never had a choice in the matter.

"Good. Then let's get out of here before we end up behind bars. I don't want to get caught in this town with kidnapping and murder on my record." I muttered. "Zap us out of here, Cas."

"I can't, Dean. I think it's Lucifer. He's blocking my abilities somehow." Cas sullenly said, looking down at the white covers on the bed.

"How is that possible? He's just a hallucination." My eyes narrowed skeptically.

"I'm not sure, Dean. All I know is that he's doing it somehow. Perhaps it's a mental problem."

"It _is_ possible, Dean. I mean, maybe he somehow convinced Cas that he took away his abilities, and Cas believed him, so that created some sort of mental block." Sam hypothesized, speaking up for the first time since Cas became lucid.

"Great. Well, we'll just have to walk out of here then. Good thing I brought this." I pulled out the trench-coat from where I had shoved it under my jacket. "You're going to attract too much attention if you're walking down the hall wearing stark white hospital scrubs."

I handed the coat to him like I had done the other night. He gave the trench-coat a look of longing and gently grabbed it from my hands, pulling it on as he stood from the bed. I would never admit it out loud, but the coat looked best when it was on Cas, where it truly belonged.

"Alright. Let's get moving." I said, moving towards the door with Sam and Cas following behind me. I had to admit, I felt better than I had in a long time with the two people I trusted most in the world at my back.

**()()()()SPN()()()()**

_Enter Sandman_ was blasting through the speakers in the "borrowed" car as I sped along the road. We were several hours out from the town now, and not a single police car had tried to stop us the entire way. Sam was sitting in the passenger seat and Cas was sitting in the back, and both of them were looking silently relieved.

I smiled to myself, feeling happier than I had in years. My brother was Lucifer free, and Cas was back. Sure it hurt to know that Cas was the one suffering from Lucifer now, but I was too happy that he was back in the first place for that to bring me down. I was so sure that I would never see Cas again, and I was so sure that I was finally going to lose the last family member that I had. Now though? Now I had them both back, and the only thing that could make me happier was if a certain older hunter was there with us too.

I derailed that train before it had a chance to take things somewhere I didn't want to go, and instead focused on the passing scenery. "So I'm thinking we should probably lay low for a while. Just in case any demons might be following us. Who knows how many of them that bitch Meg told." I broke the heavy silence that had fallen.

"Meg? I don't think Meg would have told any demons about my whereabouts, Dean." Cas said from the back seat, and I looked up at him through the rear-view mirror, surprised.

"What do you mean you don't think she told any demons? She was the _only_ demon that knew you were there, Cas. Who else would have told."

"I don't know, Dean, but I'm certain that it wasn't the demon Meg." Cas stated with conviction. Sam glanced over at us nervously, sensing a mounting fight.

"Cas you aren't thinking straight. You've been tripping Lucifer for the past 24 hours. Of course it's Meg's fault." I said, frustration growing.

"Dean, it doesn't make sense for her to suddenly turn on me. She's been loyal so far."

"Loyal? You, an angel, actually think that a _demon_ is loyal? Oh that's rich." I scoffed, spotting a motel and slowing down to turn into the parking lot. "You mind me asking why?"

Cas was silent for a moment. "Because she was the only one who never left me while I was in there."

Whatever I was expecting him to say, it wasn't that. Words eluded me for a while as disbelief filled my veins. Habit was the only thing that had me parking safely in the lot, my mind being currently occupied with other things.

"So what you're saying is that because Meg didn't leave you, you trust her over me? Even though _I'm_ the one who's been by your side for the past four years. Where was Meg when we were fighting Lucifer? Oh that's right. With Lucifer!" I said, voice rising dangerously.

Cas flinched at the name, but I was too caught in my anger to care at the moment. Sam hastily exited the car, muttering something about getting a room. My anger was like a wildfire, and I pushed open the door of the stolen car and climbed out, blood racing as I started to pace.

Cas got out of the car next, standing by the door, uncertainty plain as day on his face. For some reason the look of vulnerability in his eyes had the anger draining from my veins just as fast as it had come. I heaved a sigh.

"Alright fine. I'm dropping the subject for now, but we are nowhere near done talking about this Cas." I watched as his expression shifted minutely, his way of showing relief, and the last embers of anger went out.

"You kids done now? I got us a room if you want to, you know, actually have somewhere to sleep tonight." Sam's condescending tone drifted from across the small parking lot. He stood next to a door with the number 13 nailed into its center. Oh joy. Lucky number 13. I hate my luck.

"I don't actually sleep, Sam." Cas helpfully reminded. Sam smiled tightly and nodded, turning to unlock the door and disappearing into the room.

Cas's eyebrows drew together in confusion and he turned towards me. "Did I say something offensive?"

I rolled my eyes good naturedly and shook my head. "Never mind. Come on before we freeze to death, or rather, I freeze to death. I'm not too sure you can die. Period. You always come back." I started towards the motel room, hoping beyond hope that this one was better than the last one we stayed in.

"I don't think it's possible for you to 'freeze to death' in this weather. I'm fairly certain that the temperature would need to be at least forty degrees cooler in order to have the threat of freezing to death become a possibility." Cas deadpanned, face unemotional.

I glanced back at him, eyebrows raised in amusement. "Alright Einstein, let's just get inside. And yes, I know you aren't actually Einstein, I'm referring to your vast knowledge of all things unimportant." My lips twitched in a smile as his face scrunched up in deeper confusion.

As soon as I stepped foot in the motel room, Sam was instantly in my face.

"Dean! Quick look at this." He pointed at the small TV which was playing the local news station and raised the volume. "Looks like something might be going on in this town."

-_Not quite sure what to call it other than a random epidemic. Just several minutes ago, five people suddenly dropped dead from heart attacks. All five of them were previously healthy young men in their mid-thirties, and none of them had any history of heart problems. In addition, just in the last few minutes it seems, three more young men, again in their mid-thirties, have been rushed to the hospital with what looks to be random heart attacks. The doctors aren't sure what to say of it yet, but it very well might be a new disease found in something that the victims may have eaten._-

Sam shut off the TV then and turned to look at me expectantly.

"What? You want us to look into a hunt? I thought we were gonna lay low for a while." I protested, walking over to a surprisingly sturdy looking bed and sitting down on it, only to have my hopes shot through when the mattress sunk down a good ten inches towards the ground. Yep, all motels are the offspring of Satan, I'm thoroughly convinced.

"I think your brother is right, Dean. People are dying and you have a previous engagement before me. Believe me, Dean, I'm not worth it. You don't need to stay here in order to keep me safe when innocent people are dying." Cas said as he walked into the motel room and shut the door carefully behind him.

I could see guilt eating away at him, but I didn't know from what. Maybe the fight we had earlier? Damn, now I'm feeling guilty. Pushing the thoughts away, I turned to face him from my spot on the bed. Think about the bigger picture here, Dean.

I sighed. "Fine. But we're only looking at this case because we're gonna be stuck here anyway." I lay back on the bed, the events of the long day hitting me. A memory surfaced unbidden of Cas standing across from me and declaring slightly angrily that he was not my family, and I drifted to sleep with a sense of foreboding darkening my mind.

**So I'm not sure how that came out, seeing as I've never written Cas before, but I hope it was okay. Let me know what you think, and constructive criticism is always appreciated. ~ Thorn**


End file.
